8 Things That Are Making Your Resume Seem Outdated
Writing a resume that fits all of your experiences onto one page can be difficult. But one big reason many people have trouble doing it is because they waste so much space including unnecessary experiences and outdated bits and bolts on their resume.
Your resume should be clean, organized, up to date and relevant. In order to achieve that, it's about time you take a look at your resume and remove any of the following items that are still taking up valuable space.
1. Your college GPA
Your college GPA doesn't belong on your resume if you haven't been in college for a few years. While you're in college, sure, your GPA could be a great indicator of your dedication to your studies, which can be helpful in landing an internship in your field of study. But, once you're out of college and have had a first job, no one cares about your undergraduate grades. What they care about is your experience in the real, working world.
2. Your college classes
Like your college GPA, your college classes have no real place on your resume, especially long after you've been in school. What you studied in school won't interest hiring managers so much as what you did with what you'd learned. You're welcome to talk about the classes you loved and that have colored your career in an interview, but that alone won't land you the interview.
3. Your college internships
Your college internships may have really helped you land your first job, but if you've already had a first job at this point (or a second or third or so on...), you don't need to waste space with internships. Unless they're incredibly relevant (or if they're from interning with the company for which you're applying now!), you can probably make better use of that space on your resume with job experiences instead.
4. Your campus jobs
Your campus jobs got you through college, and that's great. Maybe they helped you pay your student loans. Maybe they helped you keep busy and out of trouble on the weekends. Maybe they even helped you land your first job outside of campus. Having a campus job shows responsibility and some serious time-management skills, but they were also jobs you held back in college. You're no longer in college, so it's time to wipe those clean from your resume.
5. The foreign language skills you no longer have
Maybe you used to speak fluent Spanish or conversational French or took a class in Arabic. That's impressive, truly. But if you can no longer speak those languages because it's been years since you've practiced, it's best not to keep them on your resume.
6. Your high school jobs
Your high school jobs are even older than your college jobs and, more than likely, have very little to do with your career path now. Again, you're welcome to talk about how you learned the meaning of hard work at a young age when you're in an interview, but no hiring manager will care so much about what you did after school at 13 that they want to read it on your resume.
7. Your high school extracurriculars
Like your high school jobs, your high school extracurriculars don't matter on your resume. Maybe you were a sports team captain, and it taught you a lot about teamwork and loyalty. You don't need to put that on your resume, where your adult job experiences can speak to the same lessons.
8. Your hobbies
Many people put their hobbies on their resume when they need to fill space. But it's best to make your resume appear cleaner than to clutter it with more tidbits about you that aren't necessary, like your hobbies. Of course, you can talk about your hobbies or your love of the field in your cover letter and in the interview. But your hobbies aren't meant to be on your resume.
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AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about women’s empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram @her_report, Twitter @herreport and Facebook.
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